The Headmaster : Remember Me One More Time
by Brainstormandthethinker
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1. The Headmaster

**The Headmaster :- Part 1**

 **a story by Brainstormandthethinker**

For the last 30 years he had been the headmaster of one of the most prestigious Academies in the state of Maine. He spent at least the last eight years battling with an aggressive form of cancer. Sadly two months previous he had received the dreadful news. The one which he had hoped he would never have to hear. The battle was lost he was terminally ill and was dying. Perhaps he had no more than a few weeks to live.

That night he sat in front of his computer typing out his letter of resignation. Tomorrow he would submit it to the board, intending to step down from work as effective immediately. The following week he would be checking into a hospice where he expected to spend his last days.

His family didn't seem to care they seem too busy squabbling among themselves trying to determine who gets what after his passing. As he neared the end of his life, such things seems so trivial and petty to him, even insignificant. He knew they would still be continuing to squabble amongst themselves long after he had gone.

Typing a letter of resignation was not exactly his job, That was supposed to be the work of his personal assistant. Sadly the faithful but elderly Mrs. Gray had retired two weeks prior. Her replacement was a young blond, fresh out of secretarial school not the sort of person he feels he can put his faith in. Make no mistake she was competent. She passed the interview with flying colors and though feisty she had a clear sense of direction and responsibility. Everyone on the panel but him seemed certain that she was the best candidate to get the job. Perhaps in the end she would serve better whoever was going to replace him.

With the word processor loaded and the appropriate letter template displayed in front of him in full view, he briefly sat in his chair and stared at his PC's view screen. All that remained was for him to type in three paragraphs and then save the file. Next all he had to do was to print the document and after that it would be job done, a simple task.

But tonight there was something wrong. No matter how hard he tried to focus he couldn't concentrate. He was lost in his thoughts, there was something else on his mind. So he decided to pause and reflect for a while.

A series of stray thoughts were invading his mind. There were about something that happened as far back as 55 years ago at a time when he was in high school. Definitely a long, long time ago, a time when he was a young man, somewhat chubby but healthy. But why now, this sort of thing has never happened to him before. In fact throughout his entire life he has always looked forward and never back.

Deciding to explore further, He recalled high school. Things were definitely different back in those days, he wasn't one of the popular students yet he was fortunate that he was not one of the unpopular ones either. Had that been the case his life would have been an utter misery back then. Though a member of the out crowd he survived and he did have his own circle of friends. As one might say "even the biggest losers have birds of a feather*1".

He recalled the elite crowd of jocks and cheerleaders. Popular, athletic and top of the list, back then it seems that their part-time jobs was making fun of people like him. Today those of them were still alive were long past their prime. The have had their share of the limelight, they rose up but now today all status and achievements they had made was reduced to naught. Most were gone and those few left withering and wilting away in old folks homes. Some with their memory barely intact, others probably daydreaming of the good old days past, the days when they had high status which today they no longer had.

And then lastly he recalled her. With beautiful curly raven hair she was part of the out crowd just like he was. But she never let it get to her, every time he saw her she always seemed happy and smiling.

Indeed he liked her a lot, though to this day he couldn't be sure if he ever had any feelings for her and even if he did he knew she would never have reciprocated them. She was just content to have him as a friend and that was fine by him. Even after all this time he could still picture her, that warm smile.

That was her, always there with a few words of kindness always there, always had something to say that would make you feel good about yourself no matter how helpless or miserable you felt.

Then there was this scandal followed by a tragedy, people said she caused it. After the tragedy he never saw her again, some of the elite had also died in the tragedy and those who lived would later implicated in a scandal and then knocked off of their pedestal. They went on to have there lives, some achieved their dreams, other never achieved their aspirations and then there were those who never achieved anyone expectations. But in the end, all off them fell into steady decline and by this day remained utterly forgotten.

In some way his pathway now may not be any different than their, at least not today. Even if all was well and had he not been terminally ill, he would still have been in a state of decline. At 67 years he was old school. Today new ideas were replacing old ones, the time would come soon for him to stand aside and let newer revolutionary minds to take his place. Still he would have left behind a legacy that if not remembered for ever would surely not be forgotten so quickly.

He couldn't help mustering a chuckle as he wondered what his obituary would look like not that he would be able to see it. She never had hers assuming she didn't survive the tragedy.

Today the tragedy was forgotten like everyone and everything else. Back then it wasn't one of those little things. In the short term aftermath everyone knew someone who in some way had been affected by the tragedy.

The strangest thing of all, he thought was that despite all the thoughts flowing through his mind and keeping him from typing his letter, he could not recall any more what was he doing when the tragedy was taking place. Even after all this time. Try as hard as he might he could not remember. He certainly never forgot what happened after the tragedy had come to pass.

 **To Be Continue In**

 **Remember Me One More Time.**

*1 This is the same quote used by Detective Mulchaey in the 2002 adaptation


	2. Remember Me One More Time

**Remember Me One More Time:- Part 2**

 **a story by Brainstormandthethinker**

Suddenly he began to feel disoriented, there was this distinct feeling as if there was mist flooding the room, a lot of it. As he struggled to wrestle back his senses he could have sworn that there were silhouettes in the mist, silhouettes of people. He sensed a presence in his office, someone was there.

Finally one of them got closer and closer and then out of the shadows it stepped forward into full view.

He couldn't believe his eyes it was on of them, their leader, exactly as he looked like all those decades ago in high school. With a mocking smile the figure clapped his hands.

"Bravo, Bravo and many congratulations, headmaster of a prestigious institution - very impressive - time to face reality here"

"First - let us suppose - What would have happened if you could go back then and tell me and everyone else that 55 years from now on your going to be headmaster - hmm"

He didn't have to reply, had he been back in high school now and would have said that one day he was going to become headmaster of a prestigious institution, it would have resulted in a chorus of laughter, ridiculing him on the spot.

"Now then" spoke the figure "Time to remember what propelled you all the way up here in the first place, remember the fire? What happened afterwards."

Remember he did, it could not be denied that the tragedy was a key event in his life even though he played no part in it. The tragedy had left a vacuum in the social order at school. For a short while the culture and environment of intimidation brought about from the elitist and upper-class men came to a close, enabling him to exploit the situation. He was able to turn his life around, assert himself more and increase his standing a little. All this with little or no interference from the upper echelon of the school hierarchy.

In the climate that followed there were a number of opportunities that presented themselves, which he was able to take advantage of. Slowly but surely throughout his life they would result in paving the way to a successful career that would culminate as his tenure as the headmaster of the institution he was working at.

"Exactly!" replied the figure "your accomplishment and achievements are nothing more but a fluke, your success story is built over our dead bodies. If that fire had not happened, we wouldn't have died and you would have never risen to your current prosperity. I know this and you know this."

He now began to sense a second presence, another silhouette from the mist slowly began to move forward, approaching forward closer before it materialised before him. His jaws dropped open and his eyes widened like saucers. It was her.

Now she took her turn to speak, her tone sympathetic, kind and gentle

"Don't begin doubting yourself now, that is not true"

The first figure was either oblivious of her presence or took no notice as it continued to harangue him.

" - What's more do you really think that you have won, you are dying. Very soon you shall end up like the rest of us."

"Honestly you don't believe this. There is no way that you would have had to endure the company of these jerks for the rest of your life, regardless of what happened back then sooner or later you would have prevailed, it would have only been a matter of time."

"Ah! - But don't forget, the opportunities that presented themselves were only over our dead bodies and you know it. You think we would have allowed you to succeed back at high school. You succeeded because we were not there to undermine you any more - isn't that true."

"That's not true" interrupted the second figure.

"Okay, Mr headmaster" taunted the first figure " Shall we look at it in a more logical manner."

"Now think carefully - No fire, - No deaths, - No power vacuum, - No opportunities. - Exactly"

Having finished with him the first figure support for the last time.

"Face it - you were born a freak, you always were a freak, your entire life has only been one big fluke and you will die a freak."

With that the first figure dematerialised and walked back into the shadows whence he came having said what he wanted to say. The second figure now took the place of the first.

"Even if that horrible event had never happened, opportunity had nothing to do with it. There was nothing wrong about using a power vacuum at school to your advantage, there is nothing wrong about trying to turn your life around and assert yourself or increase your standing. You were successful in life because you persevered, you worked hard and you tried."

That was true but supposing that the tragedy never happened he would have still been living in the shadow of those on the top of the list. It was always their part-time job to build their success by undermining and bullying everyone who was in the out crowd.

The second figure continue to speak kindly and reassuringly.

"Even if things had been different, even if that tragedy never occurred shortly. All that happened up till now, would merely have been delayed"

That was probable, but how? - How without the opportunities and the power vacuum

"Tell me would things have been any different eh - How?"

Well for a start the absence of the power vacuum would certainly have blocked him from turning his life around at the very least in high school and his social standing would be the same as it was before the tragedy.

"What would have happened after high school?, What would happen after graduation? and what about college?" she asked.

Graduation is where you leave you high school life behind and leave for pastures anew. In a small town like the one he lived it was typical for students to relocate to different parts of the country. Regardless of the turnaround he would still have made his way into college.

"Is there a high probability that they would have followed you into college, attended the same academies? Are they expected to have shadowed you for the rest of your life."

Of course they could not have shadowed him for the rest of his life. He went to an college of further learning, they would have gone to a sporting academy or more likely a minor leagues football team. In fact finishing high school, graduating and then and enrolling at college especially a non local college would have definitely meant being able to turn his back on them for good. For better they would have parted company and it was likely he would never see them again.

"Do you want to look at it in a logical manner. - Okay. Suppose - No fire, - No deaths, - No power vacuum, - No opportunities - Fine but then what."

"Isn't is true" She continued "that you would still have gone to the same college, Isn't it true that regardless you would still have found the later opportunities in life, isn't it true that they would not be present to undermine you and that you are totally in a different environment and isn't it true that in the end all it would have done is delayed the process of where you a now, just a tiny little bit"

Indeed the opportunities he took advantage of at school were not that significant, they just merely accelerated the process a little that was all. In the end he would still have gone to the same college, undertaken the same training and made the same effort. Missing the early opportunities to turn his life around and increase his social standing would haven't changed anything at all.

"It wouldn't have changed anything" she went on

"In the end you would have still turned your life around, you would have still trained as a teacher and educator, the best one there can be, you would have still risen to your current position, you would have still spent the last decades changing the life of people for the better, they would have still looked up to you in high regards ..."

" ... and I would have still chosen this assignment " he added now having his moment of clarity "This is where I belong, this is who I am."

No one, nothing could have taken that away from him.

Having finally got through to him, she smiled and added

"Same destination, same destiny, different pathway that's all."

Yes that was absolutely it. The first figure had long gone and still remained absent. He no longer had any doubts about his life, his choices and the events of the past. There still remained one question.

Looking in her direction he spoke her name and then asked,

"... why, why now after all this time."

"... Please listen to me" she said "you're dying, you are passing away. Just before you have to go, remember me one more time, please remember me one more time"

Then just as the first figure did, she to began to dematerialised and walked away, back into the shadows from whence she came. About the same time the thoughts flowing through his mind also began to dissipate, vanishing as quickly as they came.

Trying to focus and regain control of his senses, he regained consciousness and found himself slumped before his computer. His letter of resignation had been typed up. He quickly read through it again and it was in perfect order. He didn't recall typing it out though. With the letter complete he printed a copy, folded it and carefully placed it in an envelope which he left unmarked. As he was doing so the security guard came in and asked him if he was all right

"I'm fine I'm just finishing of printing this letter and then I'll be on my way."

"Of course" he replied "have a good evening Sir"

As he made his way out of the office and then onwards towards home. He wondered why did he decades later after all this time was starting to recall about them and her. He could only guess that the apparition of their leader were some doubts that he had which led him to being where he is today. As for her she had already told him to remember her one last time before he died.

She was one of the people whom he would be proud to call a friend. Perhaps he did like her more than just a friend. They would have to be a time where he had at the very least a crush on her, but whatever his feelings for her, she would have never reciprocated. Reflecting on his recent experience he did feel a little sad, he had managed to turn his life around but she in his view who would have been more deserving never had such opportunity. He wasn't even sure what became of her. He had never seen her after the fire and the most common view was that she had died in the tragedy as well. At this time he wanted to believe that back then, somehow she had managed to make her way out.

He wondered what would have had happened to her had the tragedy never occurred. Well for a start they would have graduated together since they were classmates and in the same year, but all in all like everyone else at school they would have moved on and gone their separate ways. As such even in this setting it is unlikely they would have ever seen each other again.

He wished he could say thank you to her, maybe for just being there, for the words of kindness and for being a friend.

He couldn't help but smile as he imagined an alternative pathway towards making his career with her at his side, always there to provide words of encouragement.

Whatever the nature of these thoughts one thing he was absolutely certain about. He had carried them with him all these years at the subconscious level. Before it was time to go he had to confront them one last time. It was just as she said

"Remember me one more time."

 **The End**


End file.
